FirstNet Must Be Resilient, Reliable—And Affordable, Kennedy Says
FirstNet held an industry day Thursday in Reston, Virginia, at which staff sought to answer basic questions from public safety officials and others involved in the launch of the network. “This is a great day for FirstNet because we’re continuing…
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to progress on our strategic road map,” said acting Executive Director TJ Kennedy. The most important thing is to focus on FirstNet’s mission of building a national broadband network for first responders, he said. “It’s the most important thing at every step through this process, no matter where you fit.” It’s easy to “get hung up” on the details and whether FirstNet “is the perfect solution” for everyone, Kennedy said. The goal has to be that when “significant” incidents occur, like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, “we have the capacity and we have the capability to ensure that the prioritized traffic of public safety is able to get through,” he said. FirstNet wants feedback on how to make its proposal better and to launch a network that public safety can afford, he said. “We are looking for solution-oriented discussion.” Kennedy emphasized that the goal remains “nationwide” coverage. “We need to meet public safety requirements,” he said. “I say this in almost every talk I go to -- priority and preemption during emergencies for public safety. We need to make sure that it works when and where public safety needs it to work.” The network has to be resilient and reliable, but also affordable, he said. “There’s an important balance there.” The network has to be built to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, but upgradable as technology advances, he said. “We are not looking to do something customized and one-off that would prevent that from happening,” Kennedy said. FirstNet will continue to seek comment after its pending request for proposals process is completed, through the deployment of a network, he said. Kennedy also spoke in a C-SPAN interview about the network's prospects, and said it may never reach the most remote U.S. areas (see 1505130055). Kennedy said in a news release after the event that FirstNet is pleased with the attendance in person and online. “It shows there is a great deal of interest from market participants and the public safety community in establishing the best possible network for public safety," he said.